February 03, 2010

New questions in 2005 arrest of Democratic lieutenant governor nominee

UPDATED at 8:24 p.m. with additional Quinn comment; originally posted by David Heinzmann and Ray Long at 7:55 p.m.

The newly minted Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor said Wednesday he doesn’t think a 2005 domestic battery arrest should hurt him in the fall general election, although records in the case raise questions about his version of events.

Scott Lee Cohen, a pawnbroker who was the surprise winner in the little-publicized contest among half a dozen candidates, had previously disclosed the arrest. He described it Wednesday as an argument with his drunken girlfriend and said he didn’t lay a hand on her, though she called the police and had him taken into custody.

But the official police and court records show that the woman alleged Cohen put a knife to her throat and pushed her head against the wall.

In their October 14 arrest report detailing the complaint from the 24-year-old woman, Chicago police noted they observed “mild abrasions from knife wound” on her neck. They also noted “minor scars on her hand from her trying to defend herself against the arrestee swinging the knife at her.” The report notes the woman was seen by ambulance personnel but not taken to a hospital.

The case was dropped a month later when the woman did not show up for a court date.

Also, public records show that the alleged victim, Scott’s 24-year-old girlfriend at the time, was a prostitute. Six months before the October 2005 incident, she had been arrested after a police investigation of a Glenview massage parlor. She later pleaded guilty to a charge of prostitution.

Through a spokesman Cohen said he did not know at the time that the woman was a prostitute and that she had told him she worked as a “massage therapist.”

Cohen's spokesman said the woman’s accusations about the assault were false, and pointed to the fact that the case was dropped as evidence that complaint was baseless.

“These are accusations of what she says happened, but that is not what happened,” said campaign spokesman Phil Molfese.

Molfese said that he doubted that the marks on the woman’s neck that were noted by the arresting officers could have been made by a knife, and Cohen stands by his claim that he did not touch the woman.

“Those abrasions, we don’t know where they came from,” Molfese said.

Cohen sat down for an interview with the Tribune early Wednesday afternoon, during which he characterized the incident as an argument in which she was drunk and made allegations. After the Tribune obtained the arrest report later in the day and contacted the campaign about the discrepancies, Cohen was unavailable. Molfese downplayed the importance of the whole incident.

“I think this is totally ridiculous,” he said. “They were living together. They had a fight.”

In the earlier interview with Cohen, he had characterized his relationship with the woman as “tumultuous,” and said that he was going through a difficult time as his marriage was breaking up and he “fell in with the wrong crowd.”

“He admits he was not in an ideal place at that time,” Molfese said. “People sometimes get off track. He was going through a divorce.”

The new disclosures added another element of unrest to a roiled political landscape after Tuesday’s primary elections, which left the outcome of the Democratic and Republican nominations for governor in doubt.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who was holding a tight lead over rival Dan Hynes, spent little time Wednesday morning discussing the background of Cohen, the man who would be his running mate in the general election.

Quinn said he had not yet spoken to Cohen. Asked about the dropped battery case, Quinn said he doesn't "like to have any opinions on things where I don’t have the facts.”

“One thing I was impressed with was he’s committed to jobs,” Quinn said. “I think he’s had jobs fairs all over. I look forward to anybody who wants to get the economy moving again and good jobs for Illinois… anyone committed to that is OK with me.”

Later Wednesday, when Quinn was asked about the specifics of the police report by the Tribune, he said "I think it's important that he explain exactly what went on there. I'm anxious to hear that."

Quinn called the allegations in the police report "troubling" but said he was not aware of any attempts to get Cohen off the ballot.

"I think any candidate, when questions come up, needs to be forthright and answer any and all questions," Quinn said.

Cohen, a political novice, used his own money to blanket Chicago with broadcast ads touting job fairs he sponsored as a way to publicize his campaign.

How fast everyone forgets about our past republican senate candidate who exploited his wife at sex clubs, and that the last republican gov. is doing time. No, it's not just the democrats sliming up Illinois politics.

I totally agree with Charles, posted at 10:11 am. It's all about money. How much money will Cohen be able to raise in the general, and how much of his own millions will he now have to use? Who contributed to his campaign in the primary, not being aware of his history? Who in the right mind would even contribute to a pawn broker running for LG? After the Blago impeachment, wouldn't it be prudent of Dems to get a slate of candidates a step above Cohen anyway. For the record - I did my research and did NOT vote for him.

Why did the Tribune only bring this up after the election? Why did the other contenders for that office not point out the problem? Why did party officials not indicate a preference? Why did those running for governor not indicate a preference? This result further goes to show how the general public gets swayed and fooled by those with enough money to advertise on TV, especially when the news media and government officials are not alert.

I could care less about this issue, truthfully. It's really none of my business and is not an ultimate arbiter of his ability to cut ribbons at the openings of child care centers and Tollway Oasis'. What I find delightful is the outrage from so many under the guise of "morality". This is the state, and the Republicans were the party, that threw a man off the ballot for wanting to have sex WITH HIS OWN WIFE. Somewhere, is the sound of Jack Ryan laughing.

As if it were not enough for people to have voted Cohen onto the general election ballot...now so many of you posters are complaining that nobody told you about this. Are you kidding? DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU VOTE!! You have nobody to blame but yourselves. The republican ticket is looking stronger all the time.

Don't hang Cohen or bunch him with others. He has not been convicted of anything - just had some scurrulous allegations made about him. I love how you guys wan't to toss him out on speculative allegations. Another hatchet job by Resluglicans.

Cohen is a walking disaster for the Democrats. The Republicans will rip Cohen and the rest of the Democrats to shreds in November over these explosive allegations. Can you see the Police Report splashed all over the news? And he was living with her and didn't know she was a prostitute? Puhleeze.

I hat to say this, but there is a HUGE difference between allegations of physical abuse and a conviction. If the woman was indeed a working prostitute, she could have received the abrasions any number of ways. And there is no evidence presented that shows Scott Lee Cohen had any prior knowledge of what the woman did beyond "message therapy". While a trail of credit card bills or checks made out to the message parlor could provide the missing smoking gun--the absence of this evidence suggests Scott Lee Cohen might be telling the truth about his relationship with the woman.

Either way, what this story us is that Scott Lee Cohen's has a penchant for making bad decisions and compounding them with even worse ones. I believe people can take responsibility for their actions and make changes in their lives to correct these short comings. Normally, I am all for recognizing this and giving people second chances, however Scott Lee Cohen is a political novice and has no track record to prove he has changed or warrants a second chance. He has a long way to go to prove that we should put any trust in him.

Don't get all righteous on Cohen and the media. The media was all over Hot Rod's ethics problems and numerous investigations in 2006 but Illinois voters reelected him all the same. The Tribune pointed out numerous times it was amazing the things people were overlooking with Rod but the Dem sheeple voted for him anyway. Gianoulias has all kinds of problems but the sheeple again voted for him over a much less ethically challeneged candidate that had been endorsed by numerous media outlets. Get real....

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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